Moving stairway



Feb. 23, 1937. J. DUNLOP MOVING STAIRWAY Filed April 2, 1935 INVENTOR James Dun [0 0.

BY I

Y ATTNEY Patented Feb. 23,

v UNITED STATES- PATE T QFFICE Application April 2, 1935, Serial No. 14,246

5 Claims.

My invention relates to moving stairways and more particularly ,tothe oil pans usually disposed beneath such stairways.

In constructing moving stairways, oil pans are usually placed underneath them in position to catch any dirt and oil which may drop from the,

steps, step axles, chains, etc., during the operation of the Stairways. The oil pan is particularly necessary to prevent such oil and grease as drips off the stairway from falling upon the ceiling or stairway below. When too much dirt accumulates in the pan, it is necessary to clean it and, because of the elongated shape of the pan and its position immediately below the stairway, this is a mean and dinicult job. Therefore, I provide a covering for the bottom of the pan and a means by which the covering may be removed and replaced without much difiiculty after a quantity of dirt and oil have accumulated thereon.

,One object of my invention is to provide a means through which the dirt and any objects which may sift through the stairway may be caught in the .oilpan and may be readily removed therefrom without removing the oil pan or going to the trouble of scraping out its whole length.

- Another object of my invention is to provide a meanswhereby the oil pan may be easily and quickly cleaned by an attendant while :he stands at the upper end of the stairway.

It is also an object of my invention to provide an inexpensive dirt catching means which may be readily and inexpensively constructed, installed, maintained andoperated.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying draw ing, in which:

- Figure -1 is a skeleton-like view, in side elevation, of a moving stairway provided with a dirt means associated with the stairway shown in Fig. 1;

, Fig. A isa view in cross section of the oil pan for the moving stairway shown in Fig. 1;

Fig.5 isa view in perspective of one section of the oil pan associated with :the stairway'inFig. 1

and,

Fig.-'-6 is an enlarged'view-in perspective of the weight pan-associated with thedirt catching de-' vicershown in Fig. .1.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, I have illustrated a moving stairway as comprising anendless series of movable steps I disposed to be; moved along their tracks (not shown) by a pair of gear chains3 between an upper landing 4 and alower landing 5. The gear chains may be supported at the lower landing and at the upper landing ,by suitable sprocket wheels 6 and I. A structural steel truss or frame 8 is provided for supporting the moving steps of the stairway between the upper landing and the lower landing. Any suitable means (not shown) may be provided for operating the sprocket wheels 6 to move the gear chains andthe steps in operating the stairway.

In" order to ,catch the dirt and oil that usually drip from the stairway while it is in operation, a long oil pan" i t is-mounted underneath the stairway. oil pan extends from end to end of the truss 8 and is supported between its side members 9 and 9a, as shown in Fig. 4. The pan comprises a plurality of pan sections, l i, one of which is shown in Fig. 5. The side edges I 2 and [3 of each of ,the pan sections II are bent upwardly with their front ends indented to fit into the rear end of the next pan section ahead, and thereby form a close fitting joint therewith. Furthermore, each joint is welded or soldered thoroughly to prevent oilor other fluid from leaking through it.

The rear portion of each of the pan sections III is provided with a downwardly extending edge portion 14' which serve as stiffening and supporting members for the central portion of the pan. 'The lower end or last section I5 of the oil pan is provided with a" raised end portion "5' which connects its side walls I2 and. I3 in such manner as to prevent oil and dirt from flowing out of the lower end of the pan. This section of the pan is also provided with a depression or oil sump l9 at its lower-most central portion into which any excess oil'fiowing into the pan may pass. A pipe 2 0 is connected to the lower part of the sump IB'to provide for draining the oil from the sump.

Although oil pans are necessary and needed for every moving stairway constructed, it has heretofore been very difiicult to remove the oil 1 understood when it is recalled that the moving stairways usually have an angle of incline of approximately 30 to the horizontal and their length is usually from twenty to sixty feet.

In order to avoid the usual difficulty in removing the dirt and gummy oil, etc., from the bottom of the oil pan I have provided a novel dirt and oil catcher comprising a long narrow sheet designed to fit into andlie upon the bottom of the oil pan and a means for easily removing and replacing it when desired. The sheet 25 may be made of any suitable material but I prefer to utilize a low priced cloth which may be thrown away when soiled or else a grade of cloth which can be washed and used repeatedly in the pan. The cloth is disposed to extend from one end to the other end of the oil pan. A roller 26 upon which the cloth 25 may be wound is fixedly mounted upon a shaft 2'! disposed upon a pair of vertical supports 28 and 29 in such manner that the roller is positioned near the upper entrance to the oil pan and is horizontal with the end thereof. A crank handle 39 is attached to the shaft 21 as a means for rotating the roller when desired. One end of the cloth may be secured to the roller in any desired manner to cause the cloth to roll up on the roller when the crank is turned in the cloth winding direction. It will be noted that the shaft 21 is disposed in parallel slots 3| in the vertical supports 28 and 29 to permit the roller to be readily removed and replaced at any time.

A weight in the form of a pan 33, (Fig. 6) is attached to the lower end of the cloth 25 by a pair of laces 34 which extend through a plurality of cooperating holes 35 in the ends of the cloth and in one edge of the pan. The weight 33 is constructed of rather heavy material and is provided with slightly curved upright end edges 36 and with a front up-turned edge 31. The up-turned edges 36 facilitate the movement of the weight pan along the oil pan, and the upturned edge 31 prevents loose dirt from rolling out of the weight pan. One end of wire rope or small cable 40 is attached to the front edge 31 of the weight pan 33. The other end of the cable passes over a return pulley 38 mounted in brackets 39 on the lower end of the oil pan, and thence back under the oil pan and an idler pulley 4| to a spool 42 mounted on a shaft 43 disposed underneath the roller 26 in the brackets 28 and 29. A crank arm 44 is afiixed to the shaft 43 for the purpose of rotating the spool when it is desired to wind up the rope in pulling the cloth into place in the pan.

In the course of time after the stairway has been in operation for a considerable period, it will usually be found advisable to remove the dirt from the oil pan. In practicing my invention, this is accomplished by turning the crank handle in such manner as to wind the cloth 25 on the roller 26. As the cloth moves upwardly in the oil pan, it drags with it the weight pan 33 and such dirt as may have accumulated on the upper surface of the cloth. Also a certain amount of oil will be absorbed in the cloth and will move along with it. The upward movement of the weight pan will drag with it the wire cord 40 over the pulleys 38 and 4|, unwinding it from the spool 42. When the cloth is wound upon the roller 26, the laces 34 may be removed from the lower end of the cloth and the edge of the pan 33 so that the roller 26 and the soiled cloth may be easily removed from the stairway.

If the weight pan is also full of dirt, it may be readily pulled out and cleaned and then be replaced in the oil pan. The soiled cloth 25 may be cleaned and returned to the stairway or a new cloth upon a new roller 26 or on the old roller 26 may be placed in position in the brackets 28 and 29 for slipping into the oil pan. The free end of the new or cleaned cloth is now laced to the weight pan and then the roller 26 is unwound to permit the cloth 25 to slide down along the bottom of the oil pan under the downward pull exerted by the Weight pan. At the same time, the handle 44 may be operated to rotate the spool 42 to wind up the cable 4|], and thereby causing it to exert a downward pull on the weight pan 33. In practice, it is usually found that the weight pan is heavy enough to cause the cloth 25 to slide down along the oil pan when it is being replaced therein until it reaches the point where the oil pan straightens out under the stairway. From this point on, it is usually necessary to wind up the spool 42 in order to cause the rope to pull the weight pan out toward the end of the oil pan.

From this operation, it will be seen that the oil pan may be cleaned of its usual accumulation of dirt by the simple operation of the attendant standing in the machine room and operating the roller 26 and the spool 42, thereby relieving the attendant of the usually long and laborious action of scraping and cleaning the whole length of the oil pan under the stairway. In practice, it is found that the oil pan cloth not only aids in the removal of dirt, but it also aids in recovering small articles of jewelry and other devices which may work through the stairways. Thus the provision of my novel arrangement facilitates the recovery of articles of jewelry, etc., because the surface of the cloth may be readily scanned for such articles when the roller 26 is slowly wound up to remove the cloth from the pan.

Although I have illustrated and described only one specific embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that many modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a moving stairway for connecting an upper landing and a lower landing, a plurality of moving steps, and means for operating the steps along an incline from the upper landing to the lower landing, an oil holding pan disposed beneath the steps and operating means in a. line approximately parallel to the inclination of the steps and extending from the lower landing to the upper landing in position to catch and retain oil dripping from the stairway, a textile sheet disposed in the oil pan to catch dirt from the stairway but to permit oil to collect in the pan, a roller for supporting the sheet when it is to be placed in the pan or withdrawn therefrom, means for removably supporting the roller at the upper end of the oil pan whereby the sheet with the dirt collected thereon may be removed bodily for cleaning a crank for rotating the roller, and a weight connected to one end of the sheet to cause it to slide down the inclined oil pan when the roller is rotated to release the sheet.

2. In a moving stairway, for connecting an upper and a lower landing, a plurality of steps and means for operating the steps at an incline between the landings, an oil holding pan disposed beneath the steps and operating means in position to catch and hold oil dropping therefrom, a sheet disposed in the oil pan to catch dirt falling from the stairway but permit the oil to collect in the pan, a roller disposed at the upper end of the oil pan to which one end of the sheet may be connected, so that the sheet may be wound upon the roller when it is desired to withdraw it from the oil pan, means for removably mounting the roller whereby the sheet with the dirt collected thereon may be removed bodily for cleaning, and a cable connected to the lower end of the sheet and passing over the lower end of the oil pan for pulling the sheet into position in the oil pan when it is unwound from the roller.

3. In a moving stairway for connecting an upper and a lower landing, a plurality of moving steps and means for operating the steps between the landings, an oil-holding pan disposed beneath the steps and operating means in position to catch and retain oil dropping therefrom, a cloth sheet disposed in the oil pan to catch dirt from the stairways but permit the oil to collect in the pan, a roller to which one end of the sheet may be connected for winding thereon, means for removably supporting the roller at the upper end. of the oil pan, a weight secured to the other end of the sheet to assist in pulling the sheet down the pan when it is unwound from the roller, a cable attached to the weight and extending over the lower end of the oil pan and along the under side of the oil pan to the upper landing whereby an attendant may position the sheet in the oil pan through pulling on the cable to cause the weight to slide down the oil pan and pull with it the sheet from the roller.

4. In a moving stairway for connecting an upper and a lower landing, a plurality of moving steps and means for operating the steps between the landings, an oil-holding pan disposed beneath the steps and operating means in position to catch and retain oil dropping therefrom, a sheet disposed in the oil pan to catch dirt from the stairways but permit the oil to collect in the pan, a roller to which one end of the sheet may be connected for winding thereon, means for removably supporting the roller at the upper end of the oil pan, and a weight secured to the other end of the sheet to assist in pulling the sheet down the pan as it is unwound from the roller, said weight having a convex curved up-rising edge at its two ends and an up-rising at its lower edge connecting the end edges to retain dirt therein when it is moved upwardly in the oil pan.

5. In a moving stairway for connecting an upper and a lower landing, a plurality of moving steps and means for operating the steps between the landings, an oil-holding pan disposed beneath the steps and operating means in position to catch and retain oil dropping therefrom, a sheet disposed in the oil pan to catch dirt from the stairways but permit the oil to collect in the pan, a roller disposed at the upper landing to which one end of the sheet may be connected for winding thereon, means for removably supporting the roller, a weight pan secured to the other end of the sheet, said weight pan having a raised lower edge to catch and retain dirt rolling down from the sheet when the sheet and weight pan are moved upwardly for cleaning purposes, and a cable connected to the lower end of the weight pan for pulling the sheet and weight pan into operative position in the oil pan.

JAMES DUNLOP. 

